Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $84.61 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.9% to 148,208 shares worth $84.61 million, representing about 0.5% of Varma's portfolio and its 21st largest holding.
• Mastercard beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.60 EPS vs. $4.41 expected and $8.40 billion in revenue (up 15.8% YoY), with a 45.88% net margin and a 212.96% return on equity.
• Institutional ownership stands at 97.28%; analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating with a $657.07 price target, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (0.7% yield).

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,208 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.5% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Mastercard were worth $84,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 153.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $175,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $495.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $535.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $480.50 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $611.00 to $590.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $657.07.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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